


(stop pretending) and let our love begin

by Littlebarchie07



Series: The Truth [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Betty Cooper needs to stop pretending, F/M, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Minor Bughead, barchie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:46:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29048619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littlebarchie07/pseuds/Littlebarchie07
Summary: 3 times Betty lies, and the 1 time she finally admits the truth.OrShort snippets of Betty Cooper coming to terms with the fact that she is in love with Archie Andrews.
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Betty Cooper
Series: The Truth [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2134248
Comments: 3
Kudos: 53





	(stop pretending) and let our love begin

**Author's Note:**

> So many thoughts about the first two episodes of Season 5, but can we please stop ignoring the Barchie? This is nowhere near in the realm of good quality stories that are posted here of late but I had to get it out there so read at your own risk. It was written whilst listening to a song titled "The Truth" by Kris Allen. Very fitting for how I imagine Betty is feeling.

Jughead is lying next to her, arms around her waist, soft breaths in her ear and she wants to crawl out of her skin. She wants to disappear. She wants to leave this place behind. 

_ I kissed Archie. I kissed Archie. I kissed Archie. _

The thought swirls around her mind, and the words are on the tip of her tongue, ready to pour out of her like a fountain. She can feel the walls that she has built, start to crumble, but she fights to hold them in place, to stop them from closing in. It’s easier this way. It’s easier than telling the truth. Honesty will only hurt him, hurt them. It will tear them apart and she is not prepared for it. 

She won’t let it happen this way.

Her eyes squeeze shut, and she feels his warm lips press against her shoulder, leaving a tender kiss to her skin. She wants to cry. His lips scold her, and she knows that they won’t last.

***

She keeps fighting the tears as he clasps her hand throughout graduation. As they throw their hats in the air, arms around each other in a full circle, she thinks this is it.  They’ve made it. They are almost out of this town. 

They head to Pops after the ceremony. Her mother, FP, and JB are beaming with pride. 

Her eyes tear themselves away from her lap as she searches around the Choc-Lit Shoppe for that familiar red hair. She is craving the safety he brings forth within her. 

Her heart sinks when they return to her booth. 

Archie isn’t here.

Her lip quivers, and she feels Jughead’s arm slip around her shoulders, pulling her in close. 

_ Archie. Archie. Archie. _

He is all she can think about. Her lips open and she mumbles “Jug.” It is barely above a whisper, and he hums next to her as her mother laughs at something FP has just said, and JB is playing with her plate of food.

The truth is so close; she just has to say it. She can feel the words creeping up her throat, she’s ready to spill it all. JB pushes more fries to the side of her plate. She can hear Jug take a slurp of his milkshake, feel his eyes on her.

Her stomach knots, the truth is almost out, but the words don’t come.

“I’m going to be sick.” She cries instead, as she rips herself away from Jughead, running to the bathroom. She dry heaves into the toilet bowl. Nothing comes out, and she slumps to the floor, letting the tears stream down her face, and a muffled sob replaces the retching.

***

His curtains remain shut and she can’t remember the last time they exchanged a glance through the window. It hurts her a little more than she is willing to admit. She spends too long staring out, and she doesn’t notice Jughead round the corner. He stands in the doorway watching her. Without a word he steps forward to pick up another box.

She’s moving to New Haven in a week. She hasn’t spoken to him in three. By now, Jughead knows something is going on. He hasn’t asked about it; he’s pretending that everything is fine. 

_ Everything is fine.  _

Jughead drops the box by the bedroom door causing Betty to jump. He’s slow on his approach as he walks over to her.

“You should go and talk to him.”

Betty shakes her head. “I can’t.” She replies simply, shifting away from him. Jughead’s gaze drifts over to Archie’s window. He thinks he sees the curtains shift.

“Betty.” Jug calls, as she turns. “I can’t remember a time I’ve not seen you with tears in your eyes these past few weeks.” He says. 

Laughter bubbles against her lips. “I’m just – I am not ready to say goodbye.”

Jughead nods, an understanding. “Let’s not kid ourselves, Betty. I know you’re not ready to say goodbye to him.”

She gapes at him but remains silent. He walks back over to the bedroom door and bends down to pick up the box. “You should go and tell him, before it’s too late.”

The connotation of that hits her, hard. 

***

Her and Jughead break up three days before she is due to leave for New Haven. Jughead calls her out for being distant. He tells her it’s okay, that they wouldn’t have managed long distance anyway, maybe it was better this way. They can part ways and enjoy college for what it is, rather than worrying about making a long distance relationship work. He knows that it’s impossible for any kind of relationship to work when one of them is in love with someone else. 

They both cry, and Betty wills herself to tell him about Archie, about the kiss, the meetings in the bunker, but she remains silent. She isn’t strong enough. Jughead leaves her room a little after midnight, but just before he slips out, he tells her,  _ he knows _ .

“That kiss, it happened for a reason. You should allow yourself to find out what that reason is.”

She feels numb. She has no idea how he found out, and she doesn’t know what to do with the information. She sobs quietly in the darkness.

Her red eyes awaken shortly after 2am to a soft warm light shining against her wall. Her throat feels raw, and it hits her all over again. 

Jughead  _ knows. _

The light is coming from the bedroom window adjacent to her own, and she frowns. Her hands immediately reach for her phone.

The thread of texts between them are stale and old. The last one sent two months prior and is a simple ‘Ok.’

Even the tone of the message hurts. She ignores it and her fingers start tapping on their own accord.

It feels like a lifetime, but the grey delivered turns to read. He probably won’t even reply, she thinks, but the grip on her phone is tight. She only remembers to breathe when the grey dots start moving after 5 minutes.

His reply is short. “Yes, we can talk.”

She finds herself hoovering at the window, and her breath hitches as he moves into view. Her phone vibrates in her palm, and she stares at it momentarily before answering.

“Hi.” She breathes in relief.

“Hey.” His voice is soft, and she lets out a whimper. She looks up to find he’s still looking at her. “It’s nice to hear your voice.” He says after a beat, and she sees him fight a smile.

“There’s something I have to tell you.” She replies.

He is quiet for a moment, and she thinks she sees disappointment on his face. 

“I know, you’re leaving. It’s okay. I don’t think I’d be able to say goodbye either.”

She shakes her head.  _ Oh. _

“No. That’s not it.” She bites her nails. “I mean, yes it is, I AM leaving but, that that isn’t what I want to tell you.”

He lets out a soft chuckle. “Enigmatic as always, Betts.”

She watches him from her perch in her window, and smiles. “Enigmatic is a big word.”

He laughs, and the sound makes her heart skip a beat.

“I love you, Arch.” The words spill freely, the heavy knot in her stomach replaced with a swarm of butterflies. It was so easy to say. Her whole body feels lighter.

“I’m in love with you. I thought it was time I told you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I’m working on an Archie part to this because I really enjoyed writing these little snippets, so keep an eye out for the next part!


End file.
